Range Rover D350 HSE: long-term test review

Verdict

A visit from Land Rover Assistance has slightly taken the sheen off the Range Rover experience, but the problem was dealt with well; I didn’t even have to leave the house. Otherwise, Range Rover ownership is as delightful as you would hope – the epitome of modern luxury – and with a few pleasant surprises thrown in for good measure.

• Mileage: 12,996
• Economy: 35.8mpg

It’s amazing what numbers stick in your head. For me, 10.95 metres is something I recite probably a little too often, and always with a smug smile on my face.

The reason? A five-metre-long SUV should not be able to turn around in just 10.95 metres, but that’s just what my Range Rover does. For context, my daughter’s MINI turns around in about the same space – and her car is over a metre shorter.

The secret is the Range Rover’s rear-wheel steering; the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts at low speeds to achieve that astonishing turning circle, then they move in the same direction as the fronts at higher speeds to aid stability when cornering. It’s not that I throw my SUV around like a sports car, but it does feel considerably more wieldy than previous generations of Range Rover.

And yes, I have found myself in situations where I’ve been waiting for other drivers to go backwards and forwards in their car when manoeuvring, while Mr Smug over here gets around in one go. Brilliant.

It’s one of the many unexpected things that have impressed me about Range Rover ownership so far – and they come from Land Rover knowing who buys these cars and what might stop them buying a new one.

So, for owners who’ve been frustrated by the constant twirling of the steering wheel in tight spaces, four-wheel steering fixes that.

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And for owners frustrated by how often they have to fill up, that’s been fixed, too. In a world when range is a hot topic among car buyers – especially those looking at EVs – my 3.0-litre diesel D350 model will cover a genuine 600 miles between fills.

My current average of 35.8mpg is 0.1mpg better than the official figure. I don’t know many cars that get close to, let alone exceed, the claimed average. And on one memorable 200-mile motorway trip, the car even managed to average 43mpg.

What isn’t a surprise is how well this Range Rover puts ticks in all the luxury car boxes. You can judge for yourselves whether the evolutionary design is a thing of beauty or not, but personally I love it, especially the rear three-quarter view, where the slim, vertical tail-lights (in an increasingly horizontal world) are hidden until they’re lit.

The flush glass from the rear door back to the boot is another wonderful piece of design, as is where the door and glass meet without the usual extra piece of trim – a great example of design and engineering teams working together to achieve something that just looks great.

The interior is a hit for me, too: just the right teaming of screen real estate, with proper dials for ventilation controls and volume. I always insist that the covers for the cup-holders and storage area that houses the wireless charging pad are shut (they glide open and closed beautifully) to retain the minimalist look and to show off the wonderful walnut veneer.

This is luxury in a very modern fashion – not as brash and showy as the latest Mercedes cars that have gone touchscreen and disco lighting-crazy, but in a classy, cool and gloriously restrained way.

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Yet this is luxury that can also get down and dirty pretty well. We haven’t tested the full 900mm wading depth yet, but will do; for now it’s just about tackling a local ford.

But one thing that Range Rover ownership has always been about is another sort of go-anywhere ability: you can roll up outside the hippest hotel or swankiest nightspot in the certain knowledge that the Range Rover will fit right in.

Or, as I have done numerous times, you can arrive at the recycling centre with a load of rubbish in the 1,841-litre boot (when the rear seats are folded down – at the touch of a button, obviously). There aren’t many luxury cars you can do that in.

Sadly, unlike what might cover my car when I take it off-roading, reputational mud sticks, and for every positive post I put on social media about my car, there are plenty of people saying that it’s likely to go wrong. And I have had to resort to calling for Land Rover’s support on one occasion.

My car didn’t let me down, but it was squeaking like an old gate when I was driving along. A faulty auxiliary feed belt and tensioner were diagnosed, so a Land Rover technician came to my house the day I reported it, sourced the required part from a local dealer and fixed it the next day – disappointing, but not inconvenient.

Range Rover D350 HSE: first report

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Before driving the newest arrival on our fleet, we tasted the buying experience

• Mileage: 10,114
• Economy: 38.2mpg

I’ve always thought there’s been something missing from the luxury car experience. There’s no doubting the quality of materials, the wealth of technology and the sublime drive offered by the finest the automotive world has to offer, but in most cases you still have to go and buy them from a traditional car dealer. And visiting a car dealer is rarely a luxury experience.

Land Rover, though, has decided to do things differently, and when we were asked if we wanted to run our current favourite luxury car – the new Range Rover – it came with an invitation to go through the same luxury experience available to owners.

That meant a trip into Central London to Stratstone of Mayfair, a Land Rover dealer with a bit of a difference. The site has just had a complete overhaul, the result of a radical rethink of the retail experience – and focusing on what buyers of Land Rover’s most premium model really want, under the watchful style guidance of Land Rover’s chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern.

The result is more akin to buying art than a car. The door to Stratstone swings itself open to reveal a cool, minimalist interior with plenty of stylish accoutrements and hi-tech screens adorning the showroom’s curved, whitewashed walls. Where four cars used to sit, now there are just two; when we visited, a Range Rover and Range Rover Sport sat, displayed as perfectly lit works of art.

Head of sales Julie Fearnley met us and ensured our refreshment needs were met before explaining more about the new facility, the result of plenty of time, and even more cash, no doubt.

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Under the skin (well, downstairs in the office) this is a busy, fully functioning retailer with a large team of salespeople dealing with their well heeled customers. Test cars and a selection of used models are kept in a close-by car park. In fact, everything – like the ‘hidden-until-lit’ tail-lights on the new Range Rover – is kept out of sight until the customer needs it.

We were introduced to sales specialist Clive Newell who, just like Fearnley, was impeccably dressed in a black suit and black T-shirt. Newell invited us downstairs into an equally upmarket studio dominated by a huge TV screen flanked by leather samples and blocks of colour to help us choose the perfect Range Rover for us.

If you’ve already started the ordering process online, Newell can bring up your chosen specification on his touchscreen, which is mirrored on the giant screen on the wall. We decided to start from scratch, looking at the various colour samples, blocks of wood and material swatches, while Newell also took us through the various choices from engines to option packs.

Needless to say, the team at Stratstone is there to sell Range Rover cars, but in this case it felt like friendly advice rather than pushing us in any particular direction during the decision-making process.

And in most cases, it’s the start of a lengthy relationship, not only because many customers come back time and again, but in this day and age, one thing that might not be deemed luxurious is the wait you have to endure for your car to be delivered. That’s something Newell and his colleagues have had to become rather deft in handling.

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When it comes to delivery, there’s an added twist to the luxury experience, too. You can have the car delivered to your home by a specialist, as we did, or you can collect your car with a motorshow-style reveal from the Range Rover studio at the factory in Solihull. 

Perhaps most luxurious of all is the option to have your car presented at London’s prestige Grosvenor House hotel after breakfast or afternoon tea.

So the buying process lives up to the luxury lifestyle, but what about the car?

We knew the new Range Rover was good – which is why we’ve already given it an award – but I’ll be living with the car for the next nine months to see if it truly is the best luxury car money can buy.

So far, my D350 HSE model is living up to its promise. The Range Rover is full of stunning design features inside and out, drives sublimely, comes with nicely integrated technology and is proving to be pleasingly frugal so far.

And it’s so quiet, my daughter thought the model was electric. The genuine electric Range Rover arrives next year, which might well add a further touch of opulence to this hugely impressive piece of automotive design and engineering.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.